East Austin affordable-housing complex Seabrook Square I had 21 families moved in by its ribbon-cutting ceremony July 17, according to city officials. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
City officials, developers and neighborhood residents gathered July 17 to cut the ribbon on Seabrook Square I, a 204-unit income-restricted apartment community at 3515 Manor Road in East Austin's J.J. Seabrook neighborhood.
Members of the community cut the ribbon to Seabrook Square I, an affordable housing development in East Austin, on July 17. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The overview
The community—named for Dr. John Jarvis "J.J." Seabrook, a Black educator, pastor and longtime Austin community leader—offers studio through four-bedroom homes for households earning between 30% and 60% of the median family income, according to a news release from the Austin Housing Department.
Spread across five-story and four-story buildings, Seabrook Square I includes 95 one-bedroom, 57 two-bedroom, 21 three-bedroom and three four-bedroom apartments, along with 28 studios. The complex is almost at capacity for those who fall into the 30% category, property staff said during a tour following the ceremony.
One of the furnished one-bedroom apartments at Seabrook Square I. The complex has 204 units in total. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Residents began moving in earlier this month, and 21 households were already living in the community as of the ribbon-cutting, said John Welsh, senior vice president of development for the project’s nonprofit developer, The NHP Foundation.
"Austin continues to grow, but that growth ... [makes] it harder for residents to stay in the city that they love. Seabrook Square offers an antidote," he said at the ceremony.
Seabrook Square I, located at 3515 Manor Road, was designed to provide affordable housing while encouraging creativity and community, according to speakers at the July 17 ribbon-cutting. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Diving in deeper
Ten of the units are live-work residence studios dedicated to East Austin artists, per the release. The units feature first-floor entries and studio space lined with glass display windows, and applicants must be approved by a review board in addition to meeting income requirements, property staff said.
One of the 10 live-work studio units at Seabrook Square I reserved for East Austin artists, featuring first-floor entry and glass display windows. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The property also includes a structured parking garage and bicycle parking, an art plaza, a clothes care center, a courtyard, a community hall, a fitness center and 2,000 square feet of commercial space.
Laundry facilities at the Seabrook Square I affordable housing development in East Austin. Each unit also has washer and dryer hookups. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
A cafe from Origin Studio House is expected to open in January, Capital A Housing Principal Conor Kenny said at the ceremony.
"I know for a fact that some of the people who are moving in today, this very day, have already been displaced from their homes in East Austin," he said.
Prices for the affordable housing complex range from $658 to $2,079, according to the website as of press time. Units come with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and some have balconies, as stated on the website.
Funding the project
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation purchased the roughly 3-acre site at 3515 Manor Road in 2021-22 using 2018 voter-approved general obligation bond funds, per the release. Following community engagement, AHFC awarded the development opportunity in July 2022 to NHPF, Capital A Housing and Integral Care, the local mental health authority for Travis County.
NHPF, Capital A and AHFC developed, own and operate the first phase, while Integral Care's role centers on the development's second building.
Speakers during the ribbon-cutting ceremony referenced photos of the site before the project began, noting trash and graffiti. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
During construction, the project drew over $40 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the AHFC, $3.2 million in 4% low-income housing tax credit equity syndicated by Boston Financial, about $13.5 million in 2022 GO Bond funding from AHFC through the Rental Housing Development Assistance Program, and a $3.4 million Citibank construction bridge loan, per the release.
Once construction wrapped, that financing was converted into a permanent capital stack totaling $73.6 million, or $360,855 per unit, according to NHPF.
Quote of note
The property will also feature a mural honoring Roger Taylor Sr., who founded the J.J. Seabrook Neighborhood Association in 1983 and led it for two decades, per remarks from his children at the ceremony.
Austin-based arts nonprofit and artist incubator Raasin in the Sun, which will now be headquartered at Seabrook Square I, is leading the community-centered mural process, according to the nonprofit's website.
Roger Taylor Jr. and Rosalind Taylor Dillard—children of the J.J. Seabrook Neighborhood Association founder Roger Taylor Sr.—spoke about their father’s passion for affordable housing during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
"Seeing his name connected to something that will be a part of this community for years to come [is] incredibly meaningful to us," Taylor's daughter, Rosalind Taylor Dillard, said at the event.
Taylor's son, Roger Taylor Jr., who later led the association himself, said affordability was a cause his father championed, and he hopes new residents get involved with the neighborhood.
"My dad was my favorite, and he was my hero," he said.
What's next
The development's second phase, Seabrook Square II, is connected to the first and will offer 60 fully furnished, single-occupancy efficiency apartments upon its opening in August. The facility will provide permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, paired with voluntary wraparound services, according to the release.
Seabrook Square II, which opens in August, will offer permanent housing to those experiencing homelessness as well as mental health and wellbeing services for Seabrook Square I residents. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Developed by Capital A Housing, the community will be owned and operated by Integral Care, with 24-hour on-site staffing, a food pantry and community room, and a clinic offering primary care, mental health care and substance use support sits just a mile down Airport Boulevard.
"Housing is healthcare ... When it's present, people's overall wellness and health improves," Integral Care CEO Jeff Richardson said at the ceremony. “When it isn’t, we see the result.”
The building received $7.9 million in 2022 bond funding through the RHDAP, over $10.68 million from Travis County and $850,000 from member-owned cooperative FHLB Dallas, with all 60 units dedicated to the Austin and Travis County Homelessness Response System through city housing vouchers, per the release.
Seabrook Square II will hold its ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 28.
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